A Chance Meeting
by bookworm2342
Summary: A young Daniel Faraday meets a young Charlotte Lewis on the Island.


Disclaimer: I don't own Lost.

A Chance Meeting

Daniel was fascinated with the Dharma Initiative. Although he was expressly forbidden to go near their compound, his childish curiosity won out more than once. His mother barely had any time for him, like most of the people. A few of them, like Richard and Charles, would set aside time to talk to him, but his mother told him to not bother the adults. More often than not, he was on his own. That's why he began sitting near the edge of the boundaries of Dharma and watching the people there. Even though he was six, he could travel around the Island by himself without getting lost, and he could move through the jungle as quietly as any adult he knew.

While observing Dharma, he mainly watched the children around his age. They were rarely seen without an adult near them, and he would watch as they played on a small swing set and went to school. There was one girl that stood out, though. She had red hair that stood out, even among all the colors in the compound, and she was different from the other children. He would see her wondering around alone, and more often than not he would watch as one of her parents would inevitably run after her, looking frantic. While they spoke to her, she would look apologetic, but as soon as they looked she would smile widely.

He knew that she wanted to explore the jungle surrounding her home. He could tell with the way that she would move closer to the boundaries daily. A few times, he saw her almost manage to pass through them, but someone would always catch her and they'd take her away. Daniel wanted to meet her, but he knew that it wouldn't happen. They were on opposite sides. If he crossed the boundary, he had no idea what would happen to him. If she crossed it, she would probably never see her family again.

His trips to the compound became more frequent, and soon he visited daily. While leaving the compound one day, a noise caught his attention. He quickly melted further into the trees and looked for what had made the noise. Soon, the little red-headed girl came into sight. He froze in surprise for a moment and watched as she looked at her surroundings in wonder. A shout sounded from the compound, and she fled into the trees towards Daniel. He stopped her, and she stared at him with wide blue eyes. He motioned for her to stay quiet, and then took her hand and led her deeper into the jungle.

When he heard nothing around them, and stopped and faced her. "Are you a Hostile?" she asked in a small voice. Her voice sounded like his mother's, and he realized she had an accent.

"What's a Hostile?" Daniel wasn't sure what she meant.

"Hostiles are bad people. They attack us, and we have to stay out of the jungle cause they live there or else they'll hurt us" Despite the girl's words, she didn't look scared. Instead, she appeared interested.

"Well, I don't hurt anyone. But I do live here. Does that make me a Hostile?" Daniel tilted his head curiously as he tried to figure things out.

"I don't think you are. You seem nice" the girl smiled happily. "I'm Charlotte Staples and I'm four" she stuck out her hand.

"I'm Daniel" he smiled back and shook her hand. This girl amused him.

"How old are you?" she frowned slightly. "I told you how old I am"

"Six" he answered proudly. He froze as he heard a small noise near him. "Come here" he whispered and they hurried away.

"Why?" she demanded.

"You didn't hear that?" Daniel was surprised. He was trained to detect any changes in the jungle.

"No" she shook her head. "You hear good" She looked around and her eyes went wide. "That's Ben" she whispered. "I'm so telling"

Daniel looked over and saw a boy that visited his camp occasionally. "Do you want to explore?"

"Sure" She smiled again, forgetting about Ben for the moment, which was what Daniel was aiming for.

They played in the jungle until the sun began to set. "You should probably go home" Daniel told her sadly.

"I don't want to" she pouted before brightening. "Come with me! You can live with me and share my room"

"I can't, Charlotte" Daniel didn't want her to leave. She was the first friend he had.

"Okay, how do I get back?" Charlotte looked around. "I think I'm lost" she said seriously.

"I'll show you" Daniel smiled slightly. He wouldn't have to say goodbye just yet. "I'll race you back"

"What way do we go?" Charlotte asked.

"That way" Daniel pointed, and she took off. "No fair!" he called before running after her. She beat him to the boundary line, but only barely.

"I'll miss you" Charlotte said sadly and somewhat out of breath once she stopped laughing. "Will you visit?"

"I'll come here every day, right at the time you ran into me" Daniel suggested.

"I did not. You were in my way" Charlotte put her hands on her hips.

"Nu huh" Daniel disagreed. She gave him a look, and he backed down. "Okay, you're right"

"Told you so" Charlotte said proudly. "Will I see you?"

"If you look close enough" Daniel smiled.

"Okay" she hesitated before she threw her arms around him. "Bye, Danny"

"Bye, Charlotte" he replied before stepping away. She walked away, and after crawling on the ground at the boundary line she stood, dusted herself off, and waved.

"Charlotte, where have you been?!" a man demanded and carried her away. He watched until she disappeared, then he returned to his camp.

He entered the camp virtually unnoticed, but his mother saw him rather quickly. "Daniel, we're going to talk later" she said calmly, and he nodded, knowing he was in.

Ever since his meeting with Charlotte, he continued going to the compound daily, and he would smile as he saw Charlotte. He'd wait until he knew she saw him, and then he'd wave. She'd smile happily and wave back before continuing on her way.

One day, she never showed up. Daniel waited for hours, and as he left he realized she was gone, and he'd never see her again.

29 Years Later

Daniel Faraday was running late. He was supposed to be on board the Kahana no later than 2. It was 1:55 and he was just arriving at the docks. Thankfully, he boarded quickly and his belongings were whisked away in record time. Sitting on the railing near where he entered was a red-headed woman. Something about her looked extremely familiar, and he stopped to study her.

She slid off the railing when she saw him and walked over to him. "Are you part of the science team, too?"

Embarrassed at being caught staring, Daniel ducked his head. "Yeah. I'm - -I'm Daniel Faraday"

"Charlotte Lewis" the woman replied and held out her hand. Daniel shook it feeling a sense of déjà vu. "It's nice to meet you"


End file.
